Square Pegs and Round Holes: Surviving the Rollercoaster of SEN Parenting and Enjoying the Ride!

This is the book I needed to read 15 years ago. It is an informative memoir of my experience of parenting children with additional needs - the good, the bad and the painful. I hope it will let people know that they're not the only ones going through hard and incredibly tough times, and some hints and tips to help. So, why should you read this book and not someone else's? I am, first and foremost, a mum to two amazing young adults who have additional needs (dyslexia, ASD, ADHD, anxiety, Irlen Syndrome to name a few). We have really struggled at times, and although there are books about different conditions, and there are books trying to 'fix' problems, there weren't any books that made us feel that we weren't the only ones going through what we were going through - at times I thought we were the worst parents in the world and we had messed everything up. That is an incredibly lonely place to be. I am also a teacher, and have taught a wide range of children and adults over the last 21 years. Through my character, my parenting experience and being in the right place, I am now a SEND tutor, and work with young people who are unable to attend mainstream school for a variety of reasons. In the past I have also taught looked after children, study programmes with 16-18 year olds who did not achieve 5 GCSEs in secondary school, and I have also been a lead teacher in an Alternative Provision setting where we had excluded 10-16 year olds as well as in mainstream colleges. With my experience as a parent, a teacher and someone who didn't quite fit the mould at school, I am telling a story that needs to be told - clichéd but true! There are lots of parents, grandparents and carers who are struggling with home life, who are battling school policy, and who are lost. Teachers will also benefit from reading this as there isn't a typical dyslexic or autistic learner - they are all different with different needs. Mainstream education now seems to follow a one size fits all approach, and if there isn't one size, it's not going to fit all.